A Cup of Tea
by Multigraincheerios
Summary: "I'll find my way back to, please say you'll be waiting." Rose/TenToo.


Ch 1: A Cup of Tea.

A/N: Rose/TenToo fanfic inspired by the song "The Promise" by Tracy Chapman.

(I apologize that this is so shitty. It's getting late and I'm sick so I have a ton of Nyquil in me which in turn makes me have no idea of a story line at all. I just want to write.)

xxx

The demanding whistle of a kettle was one of the only noises in the London flat at the moment. A simple white mug with a tea bag sat next to the stovetop waiting for the water. It was the kind of day that simply demanded a good cuppa. Rainy, cold and dreary. Not something that most people wanted in the middle of July but it's what it was.

The flat was simple and small, just the way she had always wanted it. One bedroom, one bathroom with a claw bathtub and shower combo, a kitchen with a breakfast bar that opened onto the living room furnished simply with a couch, a chair and a TV. The young woman was sprawled across the couch, a book above her head as she read it obviously absorbed in it. The book's spine read "Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen". This copy was well loved, worse for wear, a stain was over the front cover from a cup of tea that was accidently spilled over it when the TARDIS lurched too far, the pages dog eared on pages she particularly fancied. The whistling of the kettle shook Rose Tyler out of her book and back into reality. It was a Sunday, her day off and she hadn't done much with it. Mainly read and made tea, not too exciting.

He had been on her mind an awful lot lately. The Doctor. Not the Doctor in the alternate universe but the Doctor who had been left with her. The one that needed her. Half human, half Time Lord, same wild hair, same face, same quirks, same everything, memories, experiences, knowledge. All 900 some years as a Time Lord in that head of his but with only one heart. One life and he'd spend it with her, if she wanted him.

She hadn't wanted him. They had given it a try. He had gotten a flat close by, they worked at Torchwood together and tried to make things normal but Rose couldn't accept it. He wasn't _her _Doctor. Not really. He was just a copy. An accident. She wanted her Doctor. The one she fell in love with, not this one. She had tried, but she couldn't quite accept it. She resented him in a way. She resented both Doctors, not just him. She was mad at both of them.

It had been two years since they had last talked, actually it was a huge fight that she regretted and that came back to haunt her every now and again, the guilt still with her. It had just been a typical night, things had been going smoothly and she was happy, she had forgotten for a moment that he wasn't just the human Doctor, she was just content eating the pasta and drinking wine with him. She didn't remember what had started the argument but she remembered one part vividly. He had made some comment and it had struck a cord with her. It dawned on her again that he wasn't the same Doctor.

_"I think you need to go. Please."_

_ "Rose? What's the matter? Did I do something?"_

_ "No, no, you didn't. Will you leave please?" she asked, standing up and beginning to clean up the plates. She wanted him out of her flat. _

_ "No, tell me what's wrong. Rose. Come on." The Doctor said, looking up at her with those eyes of his as he stood up and went over to the sink next to her._

_ "JOHN. I SAID GO! Don't you get it? Whenever I look at you, I just get sad, you aren't him. Not my Doctor. You're a copy, an accident. You're not him. I'm sorry, you just make it all the more painful. I just-I can't." she said in a rushed manner. The tears prickling the back of her eyes. She willed herself not to cry. Not again. Not in front of him. She would be strong. _

_ "God damn it! Do we have to go over this again?! Rose! I am him. I am the Doctor. I have all the same memories, all the same experiences, everything. We are the same person. I am just human. One heart. One life. The only other change I've made is started to call myself John Smith. We've been over this how many times? Rose, you have to give it a chance!"_

_ "I don't wanna! I want you to go. Now go! You aren't him and I don't want to be around you. I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you, I don't want to touch your or kiss you or hug you, I don't want to love you. Don't you get that? I can't love you. You aren't him! Now leave!" she said angrily, slamming the dishes in the sink. _

_ The hurt on the Doctor's face was more than evident, the pure hurt, his face fell and all he could do was stand up in defeat. What did one say to that? If that's what she wanted, who was he to argue? He had tried. He'd give her some time to cool down and see where it went. "Fine. I'm gone." He said quietly, standing up and showing himself out of the flat._

After that fight, Rose had moved departments at Torchwood, from Alien Research to the marketing side. Which allowed her to work in the offices and not the labs, which cut down the chances she'd bump into him. She avoided restaurants, coffee shops, shops that she knew that he'd go to and that had been that. Jackie had attempted to talk to Rose about it, but Rose just got upset with her and generally that ended in a fight too. She wasn't sure why she got so upset with her mum but she did. Call it hormones.

She had been thinking of him an awful lot lately. She had been running into him more and more and each time she did her heart started to race a bit more and her stomach twisted. She realized that she missed him. When she did see him and she saw him, he would always give her that goofy grin and a wave before she would turn around and walk away. The grin that tugged on her heart strings. The grin only her Doctor would have.

Pouring the water over the tea bag, she waited for it to steep, took the bag out, added one sugar and a splash of milk and stirred it up. Leaning on the counter as she took a sip of it. Thoughts of The Doctor now John Smith running through her head.


End file.
